Bridge-flooring



(No Model.)

' G. W. CARMAN.

BRIDGE `FLOORING.

No. 423,126. Patented Mar; 11, 1890.:

l A TTOHNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

CHARLES WV. CARMAN, OF HAMBURG, IOWA.

Bulbes-FLOORING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 423,126, dated March 11, 1890. Application filed June 25, 1889. Serial No.3l5A62. (No model.)

To all whom` it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WV. CARMAN,

of IIarnburg, in the county of Fremont and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in BridgeFlooring, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to animprovement in bridge-ooring, and has for its object to provide a iiooring capable of being laid upon a bridge when iirst constructed, but especially adapted to be laid as an auxiliary iiooring upon the main iioor of the bridge or other equivalent structure when said flooring has become decayed or injured. Afurther object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary flooring which, when laid upon the main floor, will preserve the latter and be so wedged to place as to constitute an integral portion of the structure.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of lthe several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, in whichsimilar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all'ithe views.

Figurel is a partial plan view of the flooring. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through a series of blocks comprising a portion of the flooring. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the said flooring, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a block employed in the construction of the iiooring.

In carrying out the invention the ordinary flooring 10 is laid upon the strin gers or beams 11 in the ordinary manner. Upon the main flooring 10, longitudinally of the bridge, two spaced side strips or facings l2 are securely attached to the main ooring by bolts, screws, nails, or other equivalent devices, the dis tance between the opposed faces of the side strips being the width ofthe road-bed to be laid.

The inner face of each side strip l2 is bevgeled upward and downward from the center line, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and the blocks 13, employed in constructing the flooring, are square upon their upper and lower faces, the square of the upper face being less than the square of the lower face, and the four sides of the block are beveled downward, as best illustrated in Fig. 1l.

Inconnection with the blocks and side strips 12 cross beams or strips let are employed, having both longitudinal faces beveled upward and downward from a center line, as illustrated in Fig. 3, andthe ends Al0 is preferably given a coating of pitch, and

likewise the inner opposed faces of the side strips 12. This coating of pitch is given to the main flooring and to the side strips to preserve the former and to effectually pre* 'vent any water passing in beneath the side strips.

Before any of the blocks are laid at the commencement of the auxiliary flooring a cross beam or strip 14 is placed in contact with the side l strips and bolted, nailed, or otherwise secured to the main floor. rliwo or more rows ofblocks 13 are then laid, preferably two rows, in such manner that the blocks will break joints, and each of the blocks is secured to the main flooring by nails or equivalent fastening devices driven through their sides into the said main flooring, and the blocks contacting with the cross beams or strips 14., are also secured by being nailed to the said cross-strips at or near the center of the latter.

Vhen the blocks have been laid over a sufficient area in the manner above described, the cavities intervening the opposed edges of the blocks, and also the opposed edges of the blocks, the side strip and crossbeams are filled with pitch or any desirable form of cement, whereby the nails or other fastening devices employed to secure the blocks to .the main flooring are effectually tied in position and an even upper surface is obtained.

It will be observed that when a floor is laid in this manner every portion of the door is Vsecurely wedged to place, and that it is almost impossible to dislodge any of the blocks without irst removing the cross strip or beam 14 in front of said blocks.

Having thus described my invention, I

ICG

opposed faces upwardly and downwardly beveled from a center line, of a yseries of blocks laid upon the foundation between the side I strips to break joints, the said blocks being provided with downwardly-beveled side faces and a top surface of less area than the bottom surface, and pitch or cement inserted in the spaces intervening the opposed edges of the blocks and the opposed edges of the blocks and side strips, all combined for operation substantially as shown and described.

3. In a bridge-flooring, the combination, with the foundation, spaced sidestrips secured to said foundation, having opposed facesupwardly and downwardly beveled from a center line, and a series of cross-strips having their ends recessed to receive the beveled surface of the side strips and their sides 3o upwardly and downwardly beveled from a center line, of a series of rectangular blocks having downwardly-beveled side faces laid upon the foundation between the side and cross strips, substantially as shown and described.4

4. In a bridge-flooring, the combination, with a support, spaced side strips secure d to said support, having a beveled inner face, and cross-strips secured to the foundation, re cessed at the extremities to receive the beveled face of the side strips and provided with beveled side faces, of a series of rectangular blocks having downwardly-bevcled side facesM and laid to break joints upon the foundation :L/"i

intervening the opposed 5o 

